Microsoft Office

Introducing Tables 6
ON the CD-ROM
If you’d like to practice working with tables, the workbook shown here is available on the
CD-ROM. The file is named real estate table.xlsx.
What’s the difference between a standard range and table?
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Activating any cell in the table gives you access to a new Table Tools context tab on the Ribbon
(see Figure 6.3).
The cells contain background color and text color formatting. This formatting is optional.
Each column header contains a drop-down list, which you can use to sort the data or filter the
table to hide specific rows.
If you scroll the sheet down so that the header row disappears, the table headers replace the column
letters in the worksheet header.
Tables support calculated columns. A single formula in a column is automatically propagated to
all cells in the column. (See Chapter 11.)
Tables support structured references. Rather than using cell references, formulas can use table
names and column headers. (See Chapter 11.)
The lower-right corner of the lower-right cell contains a small control that you can click and drag
to extend the table’s size, either horizontally (add more columns) or vertically (add more rows).
Excel is able to remove duplicate rows automatically.
Selecting rows and columns within the table is simplified.
FIGURE 6.3
When you select a cell in a table, you can use the commands located on the Table Tools ➪ Design tab.
Creating a Table
Most of the time, you’ll create a table from an existing range of data. But Excel also allows you to create a
table from an empty range so that you can fill in the details later. The following instructions assume that
you already have a range of data that’s suitable for a table.
1. First, make sure that the range doesn’t contain any completely blank rows or columns.
2. Activate any cell within the range.
3. Choose Insert ➪ Tables ➪ Table (or press Ctrl+T). Excel responds with its Create Table dialog
box, shown in Figure 6.4. Excel tries to guess the range, and whether the table has a header row.
Most of the time, it guesses correctly. If not, make your corrections before you click OK.
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